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josiahrichardson's review
4.0
Very good if for no other reason than that it kept me in the Psalms all year long. Each section of a couple verses of the Psalms (starting in chapter one and working consecutively to the end) has a short commentary and a corresponding prayer for the day.
shelfreflectionofficial's review
5.0
This is a great year-long journey through one of the most loved books of the Bible- the Psalms. I am not one for fluffy books, especially ones that will take me an entire year to read and I find a lot of devotionals to be more about the author's words than God's. What I appreciated about this book is Tim and Kathy Keller's desire to help us read the Bible as it was intended, to meditate on the words and maintain sound doctrine, not the 'mystical.' He says that Psalms was "written to be a course of prayed theology that helps you process every possible personal situation through the truth about God." Keller's Bible and theology knowledge is evident in the short commentary he provides for each Psalm or Psalm section, but the meditations are biblical and do not focus on his own experiences.
It's easy to read through Psalms and say- Okay, this one is about praise, here's one about feeling alone, here's another one on praise, another one on all the evil in the world, etc-- but Keller makes profound connections and helps us turn the Bible's words inward- convicting, encouraging, and inspiring deeper communication with the Lord, reminding us that Scripture is alive and relevant to today.
The book is entitled The Songs of Jesus, which is interesting because most of the time when we hear 'Psalms' we think 'David' but Keller takes each Psalm and beats a path to Jesus and his saving grace. I'm constantly growing in faith and recognizing God's hand in all things- including the Bible He inspired and directed to tell His ongoing redemption story. The Psalms truly are the songs of Jesus and how sweet it is that we can read them.
The introductory pages are just as important as the rest as he lays out his plan for the book and provides helpful questions for us to make the most of each meditation: ADORE (What did you learn about God for which you could praise or thank him?), ADMIT (What did you learn about yourself for which you could repent?), and ASPIRE (What did you learn about life that you could aspire to, ask for, and act on?) What great questions to even write in your Bible to use for all the other books of the Bible as well!
Each day/page is a short section of Scripture- anywhere from 3-10 verses, followed by a short paragraph in commentary and cross-references to other Scriptures or biblical events, and concluded with a short prayer. I loved the prayer section because a lot of times we read Scripture and think- what do I do with this knowledge? Keller's prayers are helpful prompts to begin praying the Bible passage into your life. I found it benefited me most when I would write out his prayer word for word in a journal and then expound on it and pray it specifically for myself or others in my life.
I wanted to focus more on praying this year and praying for my kids so this book was an encouragement to me to have daily prayers for my children that were directly from Scripture. I know that I will go through this book again.
It's designed to be read in a year, but really you could go at any pace. Each devotional has a date at the top. If it's hard for you to do one every day, just keep it by your bed or your couch and whenever you have time, just do the one for whatever day it is. The commentaries don't build on each other so reading them out of order does not matter. Any time spent reading the Bible is valuable so do whatever you can!
We are about to begin 2021 and I would highly recommend this book and encourage this to be something you consider making a priority for the new year. Would also make a great gift!
It's easy to read through Psalms and say- Okay, this one is about praise, here's one about feeling alone, here's another one on praise, another one on all the evil in the world, etc-- but Keller makes profound connections and helps us turn the Bible's words inward- convicting, encouraging, and inspiring deeper communication with the Lord, reminding us that Scripture is alive and relevant to today.
The book is entitled The Songs of Jesus, which is interesting because most of the time when we hear 'Psalms' we think 'David' but Keller takes each Psalm and beats a path to Jesus and his saving grace. I'm constantly growing in faith and recognizing God's hand in all things- including the Bible He inspired and directed to tell His ongoing redemption story. The Psalms truly are the songs of Jesus and how sweet it is that we can read them.
The introductory pages are just as important as the rest as he lays out his plan for the book and provides helpful questions for us to make the most of each meditation: ADORE (What did you learn about God for which you could praise or thank him?), ADMIT (What did you learn about yourself for which you could repent?), and ASPIRE (What did you learn about life that you could aspire to, ask for, and act on?) What great questions to even write in your Bible to use for all the other books of the Bible as well!
Each day/page is a short section of Scripture- anywhere from 3-10 verses, followed by a short paragraph in commentary and cross-references to other Scriptures or biblical events, and concluded with a short prayer. I loved the prayer section because a lot of times we read Scripture and think- what do I do with this knowledge? Keller's prayers are helpful prompts to begin praying the Bible passage into your life. I found it benefited me most when I would write out his prayer word for word in a journal and then expound on it and pray it specifically for myself or others in my life.
I wanted to focus more on praying this year and praying for my kids so this book was an encouragement to me to have daily prayers for my children that were directly from Scripture. I know that I will go through this book again.
It's designed to be read in a year, but really you could go at any pace. Each devotional has a date at the top. If it's hard for you to do one every day, just keep it by your bed or your couch and whenever you have time, just do the one for whatever day it is. The commentaries don't build on each other so reading them out of order does not matter. Any time spent reading the Bible is valuable so do whatever you can!
We are about to begin 2021 and I would highly recommend this book and encourage this to be something you consider making a priority for the new year. Would also make a great gift!
josiahdegraaf's review
4.0
I used this devotional over the course of the last year. Overall it was pretty good. Keller did a good job of giving a theme to each day and making a lot of good insights that made an impression on me about half of the time that I read them, which is really good for a yearly devotional sort of thing. I didn't like the way Keller dealt with the imprecatory psalms since while he didn't fully take the Lewis route of saying these psalms aren't Christian, he got pretty close to Lewis anyways and was constantly trying to show with these psalms why they're no longer relevant, which I firmly disagree with. For the non-imprecatory psalms, however, I found this a helpful devotional to use.
Rating: 3.5-4 Stars (Good).
Rating: 3.5-4 Stars (Good).
bcbartuska's review
Not quite finished as this is a year-long daily devotional, but I would not hesitate to recommend this as a supplement to daily Bible reading. Each day has a psalm or a portion of a psalm with a devotional thought and a short prayer.
1965joecox's review against another edition
5.0
When Life Is a Rollercoaster
When Life is a rollercoaster, you want a handrail or a harness that holds you in. This year-long devotional was just that for me. During the highs Keller keeps you grounded in the joy giver. During the lows Keller keeps you closely connected to the one who can resurrect all of life’s darkest moments. I highly recommend this devotional as a daily primer each morning for one’s time with Jesus.
When Life is a rollercoaster, you want a handrail or a harness that holds you in. This year-long devotional was just that for me. During the highs Keller keeps you grounded in the joy giver. During the lows Keller keeps you closely connected to the one who can resurrect all of life’s darkest moments. I highly recommend this devotional as a daily primer each morning for one’s time with Jesus.
katherineharris's review
5.0
A really great year in this devotional. Would recommend it to everyone. “If we could praise God perfectly, we would love Him completely and then our joy would be full.”
Take a year and learn from the book of Psalms and Tim & Kathy Keller how to deepen your praise of God. I promise it brings joy!
Take a year and learn from the book of Psalms and Tim & Kathy Keller how to deepen your praise of God. I promise it brings joy!
rdubbaneh's review
4.0
This has been a great companion to me this year. It isn't super meaty and I wouldn't rely on it as a sole means of daily Bible study - but I did find it helpful during my crazy months where I had minimal time to dig into the Word everyday. I'm grateful for how it helped me stay rooted in truth daily and see the shadows of Christ in prayers spoken ages before his coming. The Psalms have been a remarkable instructor to me on the rawness of emotion before God, the really low depths of human pain and agony, and the really high peaks of God's beauty and glory. So much hope in the Psalms... so many needed reminders of who God is and how we stand in relation to him.
enterprisingsmoo's review against another edition
5.0
This was a wonderful daily devotional for me - especially alongside the NIV Bible in a year. So I read through Psalms twice this year and this book helped me slow down and really appreciate more of what the Psalms had to offer. I learned a lot about what the daily walk can look like and healthy ways to express my emotions - even the "negative" ones. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a year-long devotional. The amount you get out of it is directly proportional to how much you put into it. You can do a prayer journal in conjunction with the book using the "Adore, Admit, Aspire" format explained in the introduction or you can just read it and meditate on it. Whatever you decide to do, it will be a blessing each time you open this book.
(I finished it a couple weeks early because I was on a roll! o.o)
(I finished it a couple weeks early because I was on a roll! o.o)
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